Vortexa: U.S. Sanctions Push Iran's Crude Oil Exports to Zero, No Recovery Seen in October

Per HTX market data, the Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) concept sector is rallying broadly. Key tokens in the space posted the following 24-hour gains and market cap updates: OP surged over 24%, lifting its market capitalization to $685 million; ZK rose more than 12%, with its market cap standing at $196 million; ARB climbed over 8%, hitting a market cap of $1.806 billion; MANTA gained over 7%, pushing its market cap to $50 million.

According to Bitget market data, South Korea’s KOSPI index rose 2.08% intraday to 6,162 points. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.31% intraday, currently trading at 67,985.47 points.

U.S. stocks closed on Tuesday: The Dow Jones Industrial Average initially finished down 0.35%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.02%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.15%. SK Hynix (SKHY.O) and Micron Technology (MU.O) both dropped over 3%; Meta Platforms (META.O) rose more than 2%; SpaceX (SPCX.O) declined 4%; Oracle (ORCL.N) gained 4%; Citigroup (C.N) fell over 5%. For crypto-related concept stocks: MicroStrategy (MSTR) slipped 0.33%; Coinbase (COIN) climbed 0.78%; CRCL added 0.51%; SBET dropped 0.94%; BMNR declined 1.43%; Robinhood Markets (HOOD) rose 1.19%; and HYPE Treasury (PURR) fell 1.63%.

According to Bitget market data, Japanese and South Korean stock markets opened higher across the board. The Nikkei 225 index opened 0.24% higher at 67,942.23 points, while the Korea Composite Index (KOSPI) gained 0.44% at opening to 6,062.08 points.

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart has disclosed that BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF launch nearly aborted on multiple occasions. While internal executives had already begun preparations for the ETF’s rollout, CEO Larry Fink remained skeptical of Bitcoin. The project weathered multiple challenges including internal board disputes and the FTX collapse, facing near-cancellation risks several times. Now, BlackRock operates the world’s largest spot Bitcoin ETF.

New York Fed President Williams stated that one more interest rate hike this year is appropriate, but if the economic outlook unfolds as expected, no further hikes may be needed in 2027. He noted that he supports the September rate hike decision, citing key factors including rising energy prices and increased AI infrastructure investment. Williams explained that the Middle East conflict has pushed up energy prices, which are feeding into core inflation via sectors such as transportation and food; meanwhile, demand for data centers and chips driven by AI development is raising costs for some goods and impacting labor costs in the construction sector. He added that while tariffs, energy prices, and AI demand have pushed inflation higher than this year’s forecasts, inflation expectations remain stable, core inflation metrics continue to decline, and he expects inflation to fall significantly next year, approaching the 2% target. Williams said AI demand is growing at a large scale, outstripping supply in the short term, but as chip production capacity increases and productivity improves, supply conditions may ease in the future, acting as a disinflationary force. When discussing the rise in U.S. Treasury yields, Williams noted that long-term yields are influenced by multiple factors including bond supply and demand, AI investment, fiscal policy, and energy prices, rather than just monetary policy.